


Complex

by Virgil_PanicRoom_Sanders



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Deceit Sanders Acting Terrible, Deceit is a sympathetic villian, Eating Disorders, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I love me a good superhero story, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Logan is Logan, M/M, Patton just wants everyone to be happy, Remy is just happy to be here, Roman is dramatic, Self-Destruction, Self-Doubt, Self-Harm, Slow Burn, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, Virgil has an anxiety disorder or 5, self-indulgent writing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-12
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-01-12 02:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18437600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Virgil_PanicRoom_Sanders/pseuds/Virgil_PanicRoom_Sanders
Summary: Four people move into the same apartment complex. The only four residents on that floor. One is an outgoing young man dreaming of Broadway or the big screen. The second is a computer whiz astrophysicist with a penchant for knowing everything he can about anything. The third is an enigmatic recluse working from home and barely stepping out of his apartment. The last is a childish but caring daycare worker looking to finish his degree.Then one day there's a fire that forces them together.https://complex-tssides.tumblr.com/ I made a companion blog for this.





	1. Moving Time pt 1

**Author's Note:**

> SUPER SELF-INDULGENT FANFIC. The only way I'll get enjoyment out of this.  
> I haven't written fanfiction for like five years now.  
> This is inspired by a few other fanfictions, I wont lie. But hopefully I can make my own little spin on it.  
> So yeah I'll give trigger warnings above each chapter when the heavy stuff starts to come up.

**Patton**

Patton had been so excited for his move. Finally leaving his small close knit town for something he can explore to his hearts content. Somewhere filled with new places, new experiences, and new opportunities. Particularly the opportunity to finish his degree. He had gone to college right out of high school but... sometimes things happen. Then you have to try again. He was determined to finish it this time around. So, he found an apartment not too far from his campus and a nice job at a local daycare. He was going to do better this time! He was going to live alone and adult properly! Better late than never and while he loved his parents, he did not want to live with them forever. He had plans to make them proud and he would know if they were.

He could just tell things like that. He could feel the emotions of others. He always had been able to. He had also been able to share his feelings with others, make them feel whatever he was. It was odd. His parents liked to call it a blessing. He had been their little ray of sunshine growing up. Having been a generally happy child. They didn't realize what he was quite doing until taking him to a doctor after Patton got overwhelmed on vacation at Disney World and passed out. That was before he learned to control it and block people out. After a lot of effort and help he learned to control it better. 

**Ding**

His heart beat fast as he stepped out of the elevator. The moving guys should have put everything in his apartment already. He was the first of the new tenants moving in this week. Apparently there would be three of them moving in. Another man had already been living on this floor since the complex opened a month prior. He stopped in front of his door. 1002, right across from 1001 and right next to 1004. He opened the door and started to carefully move everything inside. The movers had done their job and put the furniture in the apartment. He could do rearranging if need be... probably. He wasn't that muscular but he'd sure as hell try. 

After putting up some posters in the living room and his bedroom, mostly cartoon posters, he got a feeling of embarrassment. It didn't take him long to realize it wasn't coming from him. Especially when he heard something outside his front door. He carefully walked over to the door and opened it. There, was a man maybe a few inches or so taller, standing in the door way. He had short, side parted black hair. His skin was on the lighter side and void of any freckles. A very sharp contrast to Patton who had a light tan and freckles dotting his face. Their hair was styled similarly, Patton's was just a little curlier, parted on the other side, and a light brown color. Patton gave a bright smile in response to the relatively flat face of the other. "I don't mean to bother you during your move in process. I'm sure you're quite tired. I seemed to have locked myself out while taking the trash to the trash chute. Do you have a phone I can borrow to call the landlord?" The man waits a second before adding. "I'm your neighbor in 1001, by the way. My name is Logan Bennett." 

Patton's grin only grows. Oh! He doesn't have to go out of his way to meet his neighbor now! "Sure! I'm Patton, Patton White!" He holds out a hand to shake. Logan gives a firm hand shake in response. Patton moves out of the way of the door. "I left my cellphone in my room. You can come inside and I'll run and get it." Patton sees that his neighbor is inside before running off to grab his phone. He almost launches himself onto his bed. He could sense now a sense of relief. Seems like his neighbor feels better. He comes back into the living room and hands over the phone. The contact information for their landlord already pulled up. 

Logan carefully takes the phone from Patton and hits the call button. He thanks Patton quickly before the landlord picks up. A brief conversation that Patton can only hear one side of ensues. Logan being polite but to the point. A sense of annoyance coming from his direction though. "Thank you. I'll see you in about thirty minutes. Goodbye." Logan says before hanging up. 

"If you have thirty minutes, do you think you could be a pal and help me move some of the furniture? They didn't quite put it where I wanted it to be," Patton asked. He was just hoping to get some help.

"I couldn't see how it would hurt. It's not like I'll be able to do anything for the next thirty minutes but wait." Logan shrugged.

"Thank you!" Patton almost jumped up and down with how happy he was. He hoped Logan could feel it. It might cheer the guy up a little. He wasn't going to manipulate this guy's feelings, but maybe it could rub off naturally.

The next thirty minutes were spent moving furniture around and chatting. Patton found out that Logan was going to the same university as him. For his masters degree in physics. His second masters degree. The previous one had been astrophysics and he had bachelors in computer science, physics, and astrophysics. 

Patton told Logan how he was going back to finish his psychology degree, then start on a masters in social work. He rambled on a bit more than he should have about how he wants to help everyone. He was glad that Logan didn't seem to mind. In fact, Logan didn't seem to get annoyed once with him. He definitely got annoyed with the furniture. They were both just barely strong enough to lift up the couch. 

Soon enough, the landlord arrived and the two parted ways. Logan waved as Patton said goodbye and soon enough Logan disappeared back into 1001. 


	2. Moving Time pt 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Homophobia warning.  
> Next chapter will focus on Virgil! It might update in the next few days. I have steam for this right now so I'll be updating as much as possible but I can't promise a set schedule. I'll be updating whenever I can. I don't have any clear ideas of where I'm going to go with this yet, but it'll be going.

**Roman**

****

Roman stepped out of the elevator. He set his things down in front of the door to his new apartment. 1004! He was apparently the last to move in this week. Better late than never! His dad had sent Roman up ahead while he grabbed the last few bags.   
  
They had already gotten the furniture inside. He didn't have too much furniture. This was his first time living truly on his own. He was excited. His dad had given him a few hundred dollars to buy more furniture with from local thrift stores or consignment shops. Which he would likely do tomorrow.  
  
**Ding**  
  
He turned his head, seeing that his dad was in the elevator with two other people. One was a rather thin guy in a light blue polo. Happily chatting away with Roman's dad. The other was wearing an obviously very baggy hoodie. Aside from purple hair Roman could barely make out anything about him due to how slouched he was.   
  
His dad and the blue-clad man stepped out of the elevator. It seemed he was helping carry a bag while Roman's dad had a box in his hand and Roman's laptop case looped over his shoulder.   
Once they had stepped out, the dark and shady one stepped out and B-Lined for 1003. Roman realized he was carrying groceries. His neighbor fumbled with they key before slipping inside the apartment.   
  
Roman looked towards his father. He plastered a smile on his face as they approached. "Roman, I ran into your neighbor. You two share a wall." His father announced. The stranger sat down his bag and held out a hand.  
  
"I'm Patton! Patton White!" The smile he had was almost infectious.  
  
Roman took the hand and gave him a firm handshake. "I'm Roman Stone."   
  
"It's very nice to meet you Roman!" There's a pause as if Patton just remembered something. "I actually got you a housewarming gift! I'll bring it by later. Do you two need any help?"   
  
Roman was immediately taking to Patton. Such a friendly guy. That was a relief. He'd heard horror stories from friends about having to live next to drug addicts or hoarders. "No, I think we should be good."   
  
"Okay, then!" Patton nodded. "Let me know if you need anything!" He then trotted towards 1002.   
  
Roman and his dad spent the next few hours unpacking and getting everything settled. They joked and talked. His dad reminisced about Roman's track trophies. Roman was more focused on his theater awards. He set them up in the case along side the track ones.  
  
His dad wanted so bad to live vicariously through Roman. Roman was his only son. Roman had three older sisters. Three. So of course his dad had been so excited to find out he was having a son. He put Roman in sports early. Made him play all kinds. Roman eventually settled on track. He was good at running... really good!   
  
Roman's passion was theatre and music. It always was. His mom supported him but his dad worried that it would "turn him gay". Which put him in an uncomfortable spot. If the rainbow flag hidden in a box with some other things was ever found, he'd be in some tough shit.   
  
Then his dad made the comment and Roman wanted to scream. "That Patton guy... seemed kinda... gay." This immediately made Roman tense up. His dad new that Roman had a lot of LGBT friends. "Not that it's bad!"   
  
"He just seemed like a happy guy." Roman shrugged. "I think I'm going to enjoy having him as a neighbor."   
  
"What do you think his housewarming gift to you is?" His dad changed the subject.  
  
"Probably cookies or something," Roman concludes.  
  
His dad stops and looks around for a moment. "I could have sworn there were two more boxes."   
  
"No, that's all, sir." Roman also looks around. Purposefully not looking under the bed.   
  
"Well. I guess we got everything put up." Roman's dad stretches. "I'm real proud of you, son." Roman then gets pulled into one of his dad's bear hugs. As per usual it was so tight that for a moment Roman couldn't breath. He hugged his dad back for a moment then he was freed.   
  
He said goodbye to his dad at the door. The moment the taller man was gone Roman flopped on his couch with a dramatic sigh of relief. He still had two more boxes to unpack.  
  
He turned on the Hamilton mixed tape and proceeded to put up his various Disney and musical posters. A Disney maniac he is. There's nothing wrong with that! His dad would throw a fit over the posters though... and anything else in those two boxes.  
  
Before he knew it, there was a knock on the door. He threw the rainbow flag he had been about to hang up over his shoulder. He carefully made his way to the door. He opened it and there stood Patton. Patton had his hands behind his back so that Roman couldn't see what was in his hands. "I brought your gift!" Patton had a big smile.  
  
Roman moved out of the doorway to invite Patton in. Patton quickly scurried over to the counter to set down the Tupperware container in his hands. "Cookies! I didn't know which ones you liked so I defaulted to chocolate chip." Patton started to say something else but then stopped when he saw the rainbow flag on Roman's shoulder. "Is that a pride flag?" He asks with some excitement.  
  
Roman went red in the face. "Um... yes.."   
  
Patton calmed down, able to tell that Roman was a bit uneasy with this being pointed out. "I just found it interesting! I have a pansexual one in my apartment. So don't be worried about that. I'm pretty sure I saw a rainbow one in Virgil's room when I gave him his gift- Virgil lives in 1003." Ah. Interesting. Seems like he's in good company.  
  
Roman relaxed a little. "My dad doesn't know. Which is why I'm only getting to this now."  
  
Patton didn't pry about that, which Roman was grateful for.  
  
"I like your Disney posters." Patton pointed.   
  
"Are you also a Disney fan?" Roman couldn't help but smile.  
  
"Of course I am. What's your favorite Disney movie?"   
  
Roman spent the rest of the evening with Patton. The two discussed Disney movies and ate cookies. Soon enough they were also planning a movie marathon some day when Patton didn't have classes or work.  
  
_Things are going to be okay._ Roman told himself.


	3. Moving Time pt 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey its Virgil time. After this we'll get into the plot stuff. Who's Dante? I'll give you three guesses.

**Virgil**

Virgil stared at himself in the mirror.  _ You need to practice this. Just don't look at your mouth. _ He reassured himself. What's the use in going to therapy if he doesn't practice. Blackheads on his nose, standing out against his pale skin. Mismatched indigo and green eyes with dark circles. Unkempt but still decent eyebrows… He almost looked at his mouth again. As he scanned his face he realized his shaggy purple hair could use a good run through. He's probably looked like a mangy raccoon all day.

He unzips the small bathroom bag on the counter. He starts rummaging through it for his comb. Toothbrush, toothpaste, acne cream… Comb! Once it’s in his hand he begins to try to comb his hair. It snags a few times and each time he hisses in pain. When he’s done, he sets it down.  _ Looks a little better, _ he thought.

He had just started to unpack his things after talking to the landlord when he got distracted in the bathroom. When he had arrived the landlord once again had asked him about his emotional support animal, a tarantula. He just didn’t seem to buy that a tarantula can be an emotional support animal. Yes, tarantulas can be emotional support animals. No, Peter wasn’t going to be able to escape that easily. Virgil knew how to contain a tarantula! He’s been around spiders for all 24 years of his life.

Virgil wasn’t sure he could keep up with a dog or a cat. He wouldn’t even know where to begin taking care of one, hence having Peter instead. His family had never kept conventional pets. They did however keep snakes and spiders. Even after their family got split up by his dad being sent to prison, Dante still kept all of their dad’s snakes and tarantulas.  _ Let's not think about Dante. You have better things to do than get irrationally angry, _ he told himself.

Virgil stepped away from the mirror. He opened the wood door to the hallway and stepped out. After taking another look at his stuff… he sure didn't own a lot. All of his furniture came from the local consignment shops or had been in his room at Remy's place. He looked down the hall at the two doors. One was a closet and the other was his bedroom. He then looked back towards the main area. All of the dark furniture stands in contrast with the off white walls. Then there's the kitchen... Kinda small but more than what he needs. He's still used to making due with mini fridges and microwaves.

He sits down next to a box and pulls out his pocket knife. He pulls the box into his lap, sitting criss-cross. He slowly cuts the tape, opening the box. He pulls out several knick knacks and cds. At the bottom were a few blankets surrounding mugs. He removes the mugs. Various logos from bands, nightmare before christmas, and some horror movies. He gathers everything up in his arms. He sets the mugs in a cabinet, some of the knick knacks in the living room, the rest on the dresser in his bedroom, and the blankets on the box spring and mattress on the floor that make up his bed. 

He goes back for he second to last box.  _ Which was this one again? _ He wondered. He ran the knife through the tape. The moment he opened the flaps he saw the rainbow on top. That box. He took the flag out and proceeded to go dump the rest of the contents into one of his dresser drawers. When he returned to the living room he picked up the flag. He scanned the walls looking for the best place to put it and decided to hang it above the futon. Who cares if anyone sees it? Not like he's gonna have guests over anyways.

At least he doesn't plan on it.

Satisfied with the placement, he finishes unpacking. The last box is mostly kitchenware. So he spends a long, loud time placing things in the cabinets and drawers.

He almost doesn't hear the knock on his door. Oh boy. He grabbed his hoodie and threw it on before putting his hand on the doorknob. He carefully opens it, not yet removing the chain. Outside stood a smiling guy. The guy was just a little shorter than Virgil himself. 

Before Virgil could say anything the guy spoke. His voice tasted like a heavily iced sugar cookie, “Hi. I'm Patton! I live in 1002. I just thought I'd bring you a gift to welcome you to the complex.” Oh, so this guy lives diagonally from Virgil.

Virgil closed the door to undo the chain. He decided to hear Patton out but not let him in. He removed the chain and opened the door further. He looked at Patton, silently. The shorter man was probably a few years older than him. Later 20s. God, they couldn't be more contrasting in appearances.

“I made you some cookies?” Patton breaks the silence and holds the container out to Virgil. Virgil takes them instinctively. Now that he has to keep both hands on the container, he can't hide his mouth.

“Thanks. I'm Virgil.” Virgil does his best to not open his mouth too much.

Patton seemed to notice them regardless. If the brief flash of surprise on Pattons face was any indication. It definitely was.

_ Please don't ask. Please, _ Virgil begged internally.

“Are you settling in alright?” Patton smiles.

Virgil felt relief wash over him. He didn't ask. Thank god. With some hesitation he responded, “Yeah. Things are going fine.” He nods. He can feel himself start to tense up. The anxiety coming through.

“I can tell you're busy so I wont keep you waiting. It's nice to meet you and I hope I'll see you around some!” Patton gives Virgil the option to end the conversation there. Virgil will gladly take it. 

“You too.” Virgil forces a smile until the other turns around and leaves. The moment Patton is a respectable distance away Virgil closes the door. He slides the chain back and locks the deadbolt. He leans against it for a moment.  _ Dammit, why cant I talk to people? _ Virgil thought as he moved to set the container down on the counter. Once his hands are free they go to his hair and start to pull lightly on it. “Virgil you bastard,” he says to himself.

After a moment of composing himself he heads back to his room. He grabs his sketchbook and begins working on sketch ideas for commissions. He's gotta stay busy. That helps keep bad thoughts away.


	4. Good Night Logan, Good Morning Patton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't expand these two out into their own chapters (I'm trying to hit 1,000 words for each chapter) so they're chapter 4.  
> Logan encounters Virgil and Patton has a phone call with his mom.

**Logan**

Logan looked at his alarm clock. It was almost 2 am and his new neighbor was still blasting music. It was loud, it was heavy metal, it almost shook the room, and it had kept Logan up for three hours. It was time to stop.

Logan patted his night stand in search of his glasses. Once his hand landed on them he snatched them up. He flung his legs over the side of the bed and slid the glasses on his face. He slipped his feet into his slippers and grabbed his keys from the desk. No locking himself out again.

Without hesitation he made his way out of his bedroom and to the front door. He slipped out. The hallway was quieter. The walls were probably thick enough here that Patton and Roman would barely be able to hear the noise. Lucky them. Logan approached 1003, briefly hearing the elevator ding on another floor. He rapidly knocked on the door. 

**Knock knock knock.**

It dawned on him that he really knew nothing about Virgil. He only knew what Patton had told him. That Virgil was likely the same age as Roman, had "interesting" eyes, and seemed to be shy. Patton frequently chatted with Logan, about twice a day. Roman had only moved in four days ago and each time Logan saw Roman it seemed he wanted to talk to Logan for three hours. He hadn't seen Virgil once in the five days they've been living next to each other. He could really only assume that Virgil must be busy or reclusive. 

In the time between his first series of knocks and the conclusion of that trail of thought, no one had come to open the door. So, Logan knocked again. More spaced out and with plenty of force. 

**Knock. Knock. Knock.**

The music inside turned off.  _ That's a relief,  _ Logan thought. It took a minute or so for the door to crack open. Logan couldn't see who was on the other side, the chain was probably still on the door.

"What do you want?" Came a male voice from the other side.

"You are Virgil, correct?" Logan responded with another question.

There was a moment of pause. "Yeah?" The voice was filled with confusion. "What do you want?"

"I am Logan, Logan Bennett. I live next door. I've been attempting to sleep, but your music has been keeping me awake for the past few hours," Logan explained. His tone was matter-of-fact. 

"Sorry…" Came a hesitant reply from Virgil. After a moment of pause he started speaking again. "I have tinnitus. I'll put in some earbuds instead."

That makes sense. "All I request is that you keep the volume down after eleven. That's normally when I go to sleep." Logan keeps it short and simple. It's late. Now isn’t the time for long winded apologies or excuses.

"Yeah. I'll turn it off," Virgil agrees.

"Thank you." Logan smiles. "That's all I came to ask about. I hope you have an excellent night." With that, Logan walks away. He hears the door shut behind him.

As Logan entered back into his apartment he pondered that encounter. Virgil really was quite odd. He'd only ever had one other neighbor that did wouldn't open the door and instead talked through a crack like that. That was during his undergrad years. It turned out the guy was keeping a dog without the proper paperwork. 

Logan stopped his speculating. It shouldn’t be an issue as long as Virgil isn’t hiding something dangerous. He set his keys down and went back to sleep.

 

**Patton**

Patton sat down on the couch, afternoon light streaming in from the window behind him. In his hand, he held his phone. It was on speaker so that he could then set it down and remove his laptop from the coffee table. “Yeah, mom. I’m scheduled for the semester! Here, I’ll pull up my classes.” He keeps a chipper tone. It was his first time living on his own since he had to move back in three years ago. So, his mom was worried. She didn’t want that to happen again. Not that she wouldn’t mind Patton living at home, she just wants him to do well. Patton gets why she’s so concerned but he feels that he’s ready to try again. 

“Sure! Maybe we can see if there’s any good days for your dad and I to come up for a visit.” She has a chipper tone to her voice but Patton can tell she’s worried.

"I'll need to check my work schedule too, mom. I would love for the two of you to visit, though," He comments as he navigates his way to the university webpage. "You can meet my neighbors! One of them is a grad student. He's attending TSU too!"

"That's awesome, sweetie! Have you made friends with anyone else?" She asks. Then Patton can hear the sound of water running.

"Roman lives next door to me. We had a Disney marathon the other night. It was a lot of fun.” Patton can’t help but smile. The two of them stayed up way too late watching all of their favorites. “He’s really nice. I think we’re going to be good friends.”

“That’s good! So what does your schedule look like?” His mom decides to get to the point. 

“I seem to have all of my classes on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. So I’ll probably be working all day Tuesday, Thursday, and maybe the weekends. I should be free on Sundays,” Patton relays the information to his mom.

“Good! That should work for your dad and I.” She sounded happy, but he knew she wanted to ask something.  
“Mom, is there something you want to ask?” _Lets get it over with,_ Patton thought.  
“Have you been eating enough?” Mom finally asks.   
“Yes, mom, I have.” Patton nods. He can take care of himself now! He’ll do better this time! He tries not to sound frustrated. 

“I know you can get tired of me asking. I just don’t want you to end up in the hospital again. You’ve been doing so well!” She means well. She always means well… but it still bothers him.

“I’m doing okay and I’ll let you know if I’m not.” Patton tries to convince her.   
“You promise?” Came a concerned voice.

“I promise.” Patton nods, even though his mom can’t see that.

After the sound of his dad in the background calling for his mom there was a small fumbling of the phone. “Your dad and I are going to go look for a new mailbox. I’ll call you tomorrow. See you later Pattongator!” She was back to having a happy voice.

“In a while, mamadile!” He responds automatically. That was essentially a tradition for them. It started when he was five and has never stopped.

When she hung up, Patton flopped on his side with a sigh. He loved talking to his mom but he didn’t love talking about that. Eventually, maybe she’ll stop worrying about that… Unlikely, but he can hope.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are we gonna see some discord messages? Yeah. Is Virgil so angsty because he's alone? Yes.

**Roman**

Roman stood at the elevators waiting for one to arrive when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He took out an earbud and turned to look, only to see Patton. This put a smile across his face. He quickly paused his music so he could chat. "Hey! Patton!" It had been over a week since their movie marathon. The semester had started so they haven’t seen each other very much recently. Of course they’d been keeping in touch over text messages. 

"Hiyah, Roman! How was your day at work?" 

"It was work." Roman shrugged.

"I didn't know you worked at Starbucks!" This confused Roman for a moment. The happy chipper tone as he commented on something Roman had never told him. Then Roman remembered.  _ He still has his apron on. _ So that isn’t as mysterious as Roman thought.

"Yeah. It's a nice place," He responds, the smile he had momentarily dropped returning to his face. 

“Good! I really like their hot chocolate,” Patton started, “and the creme frappuccinos… and the tea!” 

“Yeah, the hot chocolate is pretty good. Do you drink coffee?” Roman decides to ask. Patton doesn’t seem like the guy to drink coffee… but he’s in college.

“Oh, no. Caffeine and I don’t mix very well. It makes me too jittery, and it would be bad if one of the kids stole a drink of my coffee. They already try that with my hot chocolate.” Patton shrugs.

“Kids? Oh, yes! You work at a daycare.” Roman says, and notes the paint smears on Patton’s shirt. Roman could never handle working with kids. Not that he doesn’t like kids, but that he would probably get overwhelmed. Sometimes starbucks can get overwhelming due to his ADHD. Keeping track of 20 kids would be too much. 

“Yeah! Honestly it’s the best job I could have asked for. I love working with kids. They’re great! A lot easier to get along with than some adults.” Patton laughs.

**Ding.**

Ah! The elevator has arrived. The two men step into the elevator and at the same time reach for the tenth floor button. Patton beats Roman too it though. “Oh, sorry! I didn’t know you wanted to press it.” Patton quickly recoils his hand.

Roman did quite like pressing the button, but whatever, it’s not that big of a deal.. “It’s fine! Don’t apologize for that.” Seeing Patton’s hand brought some mild concern to Roman. He’s really thin… Huh.

When they arrived on the floor, Logan was waiting outside of the elevator. Patton’s grin spread ear to ear. What did he have planned?  
“Oh good! I have the two of you in one place. I wanted to get your phone numbers to make a group chat. That way we can keep in contact if anything happens… and maybe hang out sometime!” Patton sprung the idea on them.

Both Roman and Logan blinked for a moment. “Okay.” Roman replies. It does sound like a good idea. He likes both of them so why not?   
“I have a samsung phone. So if either of you have apple that may mess with the group chat feature. Would either of you happen to have a discord account?” Logan suggested.

“I do!” Patton smiled. “I’m in a group chat with some friends from my hometown.” He pulls out his phone to open up the discord app. He quickly navigated to add friends. “Can you type in your discord ID, Logan?” He hands the phone off to Logan.

“I do too, actually.” Roman smiles. He doesn’t want to admit he made it for a gaming server. He will never admit that. When Logan is done adding himself, he starts to navigate back to the add friends menu but then stops. He knows that icon on the pending request list. He looks over at Logan. Oh god he’ll have to message him later. Who knew that Roman and he were in the same gaming server.

* * *

 

**Virgil**

Virgil almost jumped out of his skin when the familiar ringtone came through. _Dad!_ _П_ _апа._ He scrambled to grab his cellphone and answer. He swiped over the green button and put the phone up to his ear. He muted his laptop and waited for his dad to say something. 

“Virgil?” Came a familiar voice. Immediately, a smile spread across his face.

“Hey, dad.” Virgil’s happiness seeped into his voice.

“How’s my little guy? Did your move go okay?” 

“Yeah, everything went okay. I’m pretty much settled in. How have things been for you?”

“About the same… I got that new job, I’m now a janitor instead of on kitchen duty. How’s Peter Parker doing?” Well… at least his dad won't have to deal with Marcus anymore. Fuck Marcus.

“Good, Peter is doing just fine. He was really stressed out by the new environment but he’s eating.” Hearing his dad say the full name of the spider made him a tad embarrassed. Not that it was his choice. The little guy was a rescue he had been given after his old one died two years ago.

“ _ Have you made any friends? Talked to any of your neighbors? _ ” His dad asks, suddenly deciding to quiz Virgil on his Russian. At least he’s not going to. 

“ _I’ve talked to some of them, yeah._ ” Virgil shrugs.  
“ _What are their names?_ ” 

“ _ Patton, Logan, Roman… There are only four of us on the floor, _ ” Virgil adds.

“ _ Has Dante tried to talk to you? _ ” 

Virgil tensed. Dante. Fucking Dante. Fuck Dante. “ _ No. He’s been out of my hair… Remy has reached out to me, mostly to let me know how the snakes are. _ ” Virgil can’t help but bite his lip. He doesn’t want to have this conversation.

“Good. Don’t ever feel pressured to talk to either of them.” His dad had a clam tone. “I’m sorry, kid, but I have to go. I’ll call you when I can, okay? Dante kept me on the line for too long.” 

“Okay… Love you,” Virgil added, not hiding that he was a bit upset. His dad didn’t like him hiding his emotion so he always made a point to make them clear. Fuck Dante for taking up so much time.

“Love you too, Virgil.”

And with that, the call ended. Virgil flopped back on the couch and unmuted the music.

Why can’t his life just be normal?


	6. Out of Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh Logan Oh Logan... You are full of yourself.  
> Remember the companion blog! I got art commissioned from pretty inaccurate on tumblr for this!  
> https://complex-tssides.tumblr.com/  
> The art is featured at the end of the chapter!

**@ LoganBInSpace**

**catton** 9:50

logan when do you normally have lunch?

**LoganBInSpace** 9:51

11 am. That is when class ends.

**catton** 9:51

I’m free then!  
can we have lunch together?

**LoganBInSpace** 9:53

Sure. Where on campus would you like to meet?

**catton** 9:53

near the salad place?  
if that's okay with you!

**LoganBInSpace** 9:55

That works fine for me. I shall meet you there at 11.

**catton** 10:47

hey Logan, you've heard of the viper gang, right?

**LoganBInSpace** 10:50

Yes. I have.

**catton** 10:51

they're really concerning me.  
I don't want them to give people the wrong impression about people with powers y'know?

**LoganBInSpace** 10:52

I understand. We can't help that some people do bad things, though.

**catton** 10:52

I know. I just have friends who have powers and I'm always worried about them.

**LoganBInSpace** 10:54

The world can be tough but with how history has been… Change is inevitable. There are no statistics to back that powered individuals are more likely to commit crime or anything of the sort, so the unjustified bias will change eventually.

**catton** 10:54

I guess you’re right

**LoganBInSpace** 10:57

I'm here. Where are you?  
Never mind. I see you.

 

Logan

Logan approached the table Patton was sitting at, the bag containing his lunch in hand. They were in the student center building. That's where a lot of the retail food places are. Including a salad place, sandwich place, a texmex place, a small burger joint, and a few other small places. Logan had gotten some pasta. Patton appeared to have a salad.

Patton waved excitedly when he saw Logan. Logan gave an awkward smile and a curt wave back. Patton truly was enthusiastic about everything, wasn't he?

Logan pulled out the chair across from Patton and sat down. Patton immediately started to question Logan about his day. Logan responded as he pulled the plastic pasta bowl out of the bag and took off the lid.

"How has your day been?"

"It has gone well. I have quite the stack of physics papers to grade tonight."

"Which physics class do you teach again?"

"105. Just one section. I do instruct two labs though."

"That's awesome! How many classes are you taking?"

"12 hours." Logan shrugs.

Patton paused for a moment and looked at Logan. His voice was full of surprise. "Aren't you supposed to take less than in undergrad?"

"Yes, for the average person, I've just found a balance."

"You really must be super smart." Patton smiles again.

"I'd like to think so," Logan agrees. He'd like to think that. He was a prodigy, after all. Mathematics and physics prodigy. IQ measured around 158. Some people like to say that he has powers but he doesn't. He's just smart. He tested negative for having powers when given a DNA test. People liked to use "oh, you just have powers" to dismiss other natural skills. Logan would not stand for anything like this.

"What do you think about powered people?" Patton asks sheepishly. The nervousness was palpable.

"I think it's a rather interesting trait and I'd like to study what gives people these abilities," Logan responds plainly. They're just people. Sure they have odd abilities but in the end they are people. Like any genetic anomaly they should study what causes these powers. "Of particular interest are mutators, those whose power is to grant other individuals powers. Somehow able to manipulate DNA in cells and have those changes manifest sometimes immediately."

Patton relaxed. "I… Logan… I can tell when people have powers? Just naturally?"

That surprised Logan. "Is that itself a power?"

"Maybe just an intuition? I'm not too sure." Patton seemed to be hiding something, by the still present hesitation in his voice.

Logan put two and two together. Patton has powers and this intuition comes from being a powered person. Similar to how LGBT people can tell who else is LGBT. Similar to how he'd already picked up on the fact that Roman is gay before he saw the buttons on Roman's apron. "Patton, do you have powers?" He asks quietly.

Patton freezes at the question. “Haha… of course I don’t!” Patton wasn’t a very good liar. The tone of his voice, how tense he was visually, and how awkward that laugh was gave it away plainly.

“We don’t have to talk about that here. We can discuss it more later.” Logan suggests. Still relatively quiet. He doesn’t want to upset Patton too much.

With that they ate their lunch in silence. Until at the end, Patton agreed to talk with Logan about it more after classes. He’d even drive Logan back to the apartment instead of leaving Logan to take the bus.

Logan finished out the rest of his day, going to two classes after his office hours. He then met Patton in the commuter parking lot. He was waved over to the small car by the shorter male. Logan walked over and was let in the car by Patton.

He got in and buckled up, not saying anything but a simple greeting yet. Then Patton spoke up, he guessed Patton was still tense from their earlier conversation. “So… I can uh… sense other people’s emotions… and change them.” Patton’s voice gets quieter as he speaks.

“Really?” Logan can’t help but be a bit skeptical. Manipulation powers especially ones that can’t be visualized are always ones that leave him skeptical. People do pretend to have powers.

“Yeah… I can sense everyone’s emotions as long as I’m within a certain distance of me… I can feel your emotions and even Virgil’s when we’re in the apartments… Not that I mean to!” Patton quickly adds at the end.

“Can you control it?” Logan questions.

“Yeah, learning to control it was a necessity! I passed out in Disney World when I was a kid due to all the emotions.” Patton laughs as he starts driving. “Sometimes though when I’m relaxed it just happens naturally.”

“That’s interesting.” Logan keeps his straight face but starts to think of something that disgusts him. Vomit? Yeah that’s disgusting. “What am I feeling right now?”

Patton takes a deep breath. He’s quiet for a moment. “Curiosity… and disgust? Are you okay?” Patton sounds concerned and looks over at Logan for a moment.

“I’m okay, I was just testing you.” Logan nods. “I was thinking of vomit.”

“Logan!” Patton laughs again. He seems to relax.

“What? I was just testing things. Sometimes you have to do odd things for the sake of science,” He justifies. But… Yeah that was a little odd. “Do you want to be a psychologist because of your ability to sense the emotions of others?” 

“Kinda, yeah!” Patton smiles.

They go back and forth talking about Patton’s powers and Patton’s suspicious about the others having powers. Logan could suspect that. He’d seen Roman move faster than a human should be able to one morning when Roman was late for work. Virgil is obviously hiding something to do with his mouth. Patton knows what but won't disclose what it is as it’s not his place. Patton suspects that Virgil also has powers, but can’t quite pinpoint what they might be.

When they get back to the apartment they continue their conversation… until they get into the lobby. Then they’re interrupted by a loud scream… and Logan gets a good view at the mouth full of sharp teeth that the scream comes from.

 

Commissioned from Pretty Inaccurate on tumblr!


End file.
